Gaza humanitarian crisis deepens

Hospitals with depleting medical supplies wrestle to treat patients, ambulances struggle to reach medical facilities as roads are damaged, households face severe utility shortages, and conflict-displaced destitute people flock to the refugee camps – this is what the human catastrophe in Gaza looks like as the Israeli warplanes continued air raids on the coastal territory Tuesday.

The nine-day battle between Israel and Palestinian nationalist organisation Hamas has resulted in the disaster that affects nearly every civilian living in Gaza, a coastal strip of about two million people.

Khaled Abu-Shaaban, a humanitarian worker in the Gaza Strip, told Qatar-based Al Jazeera that children in the enclave have been deeply traumatised as a result of Israeli air raids.

"My seven-year-old daughter asked me, does God really feel what we are feeling right now?" he said.

"I answered her, but then I started thinking about what kind of mental and emotional state she must be in to ask such an existential question," he added.

At least 213 Palestinians, including 61 children, have been killed in Gaza since the attacks began. About 1,500 Palestinians have been wounded. Twelve people in Israel have died, including two children, while at least 300 have been wounded.

Explosions lit up the night sky over Gaza City early on Tuesday as Israeli forces continued shelling. There were about 30 Israeli air attacks overnight, as well as bursts of Palestinian rocket fire, reported Al Jazeera.

While Hamas fighters travel through a vast network of tunnels beneath Gaza, and Israeli warplanes drop bombs aimed at destroying that network, it is the people caught in the middle who sustain the tragic losses.

Tashkeel3D, Gaza's first 3D printer that had been manufactured medical devices for years, has been destroyed by an Israeli air raid, according to Dr Tarek Loubani, a Palestinian Canadian physician. The company was producing stethoscopes and tourniquets to support Gaza's medical system.

Six hospitals and eight clinics have suffered bomb damage, according to the United Nations' humanitarian affairs office, limiting medical treatment available for many people living in the region, said The New York Times.

Quoting Gaza-based journalist Youmna al-Sayed, Al Jazeera reported that the Palestinian ministry of health had been calling for blood donors.

"The ministry of health said that Gaza is struggling with an acute shortage of medical supplies and medicines, while it is calling for volunteers to donate blood," she said, adding that the hospital is also dealing with electricity and water shortages.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said more than 58,000 Palestinians have been displaced as a result of Israeli air strikes that have destroyed or severely damaged nearly 450 buildings in the Gaza Strip.

About 47,000 of the displaced people have sought shelter in 58 UN-run schools in Gaza, Jens Laerke, spokesman of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told reporters.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in a statement Monday said the agency has started to provide some basic needs for the displaced families.

"We are in urgent need of support," said the agency spokesman Adnan Abu Hassan, referring to the Israeli border closure.

The mounting humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as documented by both UN agencies and local authorities, is worsening by the day, increasing pressure on political leaders to halt hostilities so that relief can reach those in desperate need.

On Tuesday, Palestinian activists across Israel observed a general strike to protest Israel's air strikes in Gaza.

US President Biden On Monday afternoon joined international calls for a cease-fire. On Tuesday, European Union foreign minister held an urgent meeting to end the deadly fighting. France, Egypt and Jordan also held talks seeking a ceasefire as Russian President Vladimir Putin said it is imperative to end the violence.

But A senior Israeli official cast doubt on the possibility of a ceasefire.

"There is no such thing right now. There is no negotiation. There is no proposal. There is nothing on the table," he told Reuters.

According to Reuters, Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida also said if the enemy does not immediately, they would resume rocket attacks targeting Israeli cities.